


Little Giants!

by musicalinny



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Accidents, F/M, Fans, Fluff and Humor, Writer's Block
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:20:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28934676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicalinny/pseuds/musicalinny
Summary: "Who are you and what are you doing here?"_Both are little giants of their own worlds. And giants meet. Under weird circumstances, apparently.
Relationships: Hoshiumi Kourai/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	Little Giants!

**Author's Note:**

> A Korai/OC fic because I want to tee-hee. Also I love dis boi, hope ya do too.

8:50 PM – Chapter 34 posted.

  
8:51 PM – nuck23, Hi7feels, remno and 172 others reacted to your post.

  
8:53 PM – remno and 92 others gave feedback.

Closing her laptop, Shirogane Linka drifts off to sleep.

* * *

Kamomedia.

  
An internet website similar to a discord, created by the alumnus Hirugami Kyoshiro. It allows students from Kamomedai Academy to post anything they want- school announcements, club endorsements, memes, compositions and anonymous confessions. Some students took advantage of it in the past; posting indecent content and offending text. Thus, they were tracked down and banned, with the requirements for posting being strict.

For Linka, posting in Kamomedia is like a second soul.

  
Under the anonymous pseudo Haifer, she posted a story that she wrote on a whim. A day later, it had gained quite a controversy, with students asking for a next update. Realizing that she really had nothing else to do, she continued her writing until the story lengthened, the plot taking twists and turns that amused readers even more.

  
“It wouldn’t hurt to write one more paragraph.” Is what she says to herself.

  
Karst of the Heart, her story, has been the #1 talk by the students in Kamomedia. Some students had sent its link to other public websites, earning her more readers from outside the school. Her, the author’s true identity remains and will remain a secret, even though they’d included her story in one of the most promising literature in a popular public website. Her phone often rings like a shotgun from the notifications of people reading her story, so she has switched to silent mode.

Inwardly, Linka is happy.

What she once thought was useless of her imagination has become a haven for students the same as her, as the story also talked about qualms of young love and humor in which a lot related to and enjoyed.

And also because through writing, she felt free. As if she was talking to herself in the vast sea, no exhibitions or distractions nearby.

Bless her past self for deciding to make a dummy account before posting the story, because ‘the story is good’ was an understatement for everyone who read that, much to her amusement. Linka doesn’t, and didn’t want to know what would happen to her if they found out that their idolized anonymous writer was a girl with weird gray eyes, preschool-level fashion sense and an aura gloomier than a nimbus.

* * *

“What do you want for lunch?” 

  
Linka sleepily looked up from her desk. A smiling Ichako met her, and she sighed.

“Yakisoba bread.”

  
Her friend frowned. “Eeeeh? Again? Is your blood made of yakisoba?” Ichako said, exasperation in her voice.

Linka gave her a small, apologetic smile. “It’s cheap.”

  
“Jeez.” Ichako relented with a sigh. She raised her hands, much to the other’s surprise. “I am also buying you a milkshake!”

  
“But-“

  
“No buts, Shirogane Linka! You are going to eat more and stop being so skinny!”

The said skinny girl looked at her arms and legs, mellowing out. “I’m not that skinny.”

  
Ichako didn’t hear her last remark and went sauntering towards her chair to grab her bag. Going back to her friend’s chair at the far corner like the loner she is, she held out her hand. Smiling, she’s done it more than usual, Linka took it and she reluctantly let Ichako drag her towards the cafeteria.

The place was bustling with students already, being the time already 5 minutes past the lunch bell. Sitting on a small table, she is already dreading the next four hours.

Fridays were different in Kamomedai, and the remaining hours after lunch were spent in club activities. Many people enjoy the free time and use them to the fullest. Like Ichako over there, being part of the active Dance club. 

  
How about Linka? She doesn’t have any club, much to her relief. Interacting with people you barely know is a pain, and the only person strong enough to stick up with her even with her deadpan attitude is Ichako. 

Taking her phone from her pocket, she is met with a flood of notifications about her next update, but she clears it and opens a new draft.

  
**The donna sits still like a statue by the golden window, the white curtains being whisked by the wind as the moon shone upon her tear-streaked face. It was then she knew that she could not stop her daught-**

  
She sighed in defeat. Writer’s block was a hard hurdle and she was getting nowhere. Looking at the line, she felt her irritation drop 2% when she saw Ichako wave at her.

  
Sometimes she tries, not obviously, to increase her care and interaction with the poor girl because she was definitely trying to, as she said when they met, squeeze out the gloominess within her. Linka sometimes think that it’s working, that she’s slowly starting to become brighter but that’d disappear whenever someone pointed out her eyes, creeped out. 

  
A dull, unusual color, associated with sadness. When she was a kid, even though she was having fun, her eyes can’t seem to find the light others had. Maybe it was due to the fact that she was insulted and bullied back then for being an obvious “hafu”. She didn’t know her mother, aside from the fact that she left her at her aunt’s doorstep when she was barely a few days old. Her father was, according to her aunt, the foreigner- a British model that happened to meet her sister in a Hawaiian hotel. 

  
Feeling like something was wrong, Linka shut herself off and put a wall around her- where she could feel safe without breaking any bonds. Without dampening anyone’s mood just because her eyes were too ‘sad’ to look at. 

Shallow, but what could she do? A lot of things normal children have that she didn't. For instance, loving parents.

  
“You’re perfectly fine as you are.” Her aunt would always tell her in a comforting voice. “Someone out there would tell you that those eyes are nothing but beautiful.”

  
Linka huffed, watching silently as Ichako placed their food in front of her. _It was no use thinking about that now_ , she thought as she chomped off a big bite from the fresh bread. Right now, what she must think about was how to find a way to lounge in the music room to skip PE without Oiran-sensei catching her for the nth time.

  
One look at the strawberry milkshake and her tongue churned, therefore concluding that the beverage was going to be too sweet for her liking. She stood up, and Ichako looked at her.

  
“Mewf mr mu woim?” Where are you going, Linka’s mind provided her with a translation. Pointing at the dispenser, she made her way to get a cup of water, leaving her cellphone at the table.

  
A bad choice, really, when it vibrated from a notification. Ichako looked at the phone, then at Linka, but she was still at the line for water. So, she took it to herself to check it. Sliding up, she was surprised when her phone had no password at all. “Hmm… I always thought that Linka always had security with her stuff…”

  
Wrong. What she didn’t realize was Linka didn’t have any password because she doesn’t really expect anyone other than herself to touch her phone.

  
The screen showed a familiar website, but what caught Ichako’s attention was the pseudo on the top left of the profile.

  
Haifer.

  
Ichako blinked, stomach suddenly feeling giddy and all thoughts of eating were pushed down the drain as she hurriedly looked at the account, and the account’s posts.

Karst of the Heart, 34 chapters.

  
“No,” she muttered, opening the story, “it couldn’t be.” 

  
The familiar chapter she saw almost every day because of the feedbacks flashed on the screen, along with the unanswered feedbacks that piled up because the author didn’t respond, and she almost choked on her own spit.

  
Swiping left, she saw a draft. 

  
Chapter 35– Ongoing.

  
She looked at the unsuspecting person filling the cup with water, then back at the phone, and all gears ran at her head at Mach speed excitedly.

  
Jarring as it is, her suspicions were confirmed and she, the big fan that she is, squealed loudly.

  
“KYAAAAAH!” 

  
The chattering stopped and all the students turned to look at her, including Linka. She was walking towards their table, eyebrow raised and a cup in one hand. Ichako suddenly pointed at her, making her stop in her tracks.

It was then she noticed that her friend was holding her phone. She could only think of one, fearful reason why she looked so bewildered.

  
She stammered uncharacteristically, face going paler. “I-Ichako-“

  
“YOU’RE HAIFER?!”

  
.

  
That was the longest five seconds of silence in Linka’s life as many sets of eyes turned to look at her, some noting of her existence for the first time.

  
Then another screamed, others followed suit. Her shoulders jerked, half confused and half afraid when they all smiled and grinned and waved and started getting closer to her, making her uncomfortable. Flashes of cameras were seen from directions, and she figured that her ‘awaited face reveal’ will be no longer awaited. Gulping down, even as the mob of heads made her dizzy, she still fumbled to answer all of the questions thrown at her.

  
“When are you gonna update?!”

  
“Who knew you were so good at writing!”

  
“Hey do you know me? I’m in your math class!”

  
“I think you’re pretty!”

  
“Uhh…” Linka started, eyes drifting towards the crowd, looking for Ichako-

  
The traitorous cockroach was grinning at her like a proud, scheming mom.

  
More and more questions flooded her ears, and the publicity is not something she’s used to so she did the most normal thing she could ever think of.

  
Linka ran.

  
Away from the masses, away from the embarrassment. What she didn’t expect was to hear numerous footsteps after her, mainly from some of the fans who wanted to talk with her or get autographs, but she couldn’t care less because she doesn’t want to be noticed. Or caught, for that matter.

  
 _Being anonymous was out of the question now,_ she frowned to herself, _I am going to have a word with Ichako later._

  
The footsteps neared and she increased her pace, fearing that she might get stepped on in the stampede. Her cheeks puffed in exhaustion, panting evident in her breathing and she almost laughed at how lively she felt at the moment – like a girl.

  
There was definitely light in her eyes now but Linka has no time to even look in a mirror, when some were literally after her blood (in her thoughts). Turning to a corner, she opened the first door she saw. She didn’t see the sign that said ‘Occupied’, nor did she realize what room she had just entered to escape the mob. Slamming the door shut, she locked the knob and leaned on the door like a lifeline. 

  
_“Where’s Haifer?”_

  
_“I think I saw her go that way!”_

  
Linka heard numerous footsteps pass on the other side of the door, away from where she was hiding. Her shoulders sagged in relief. Even though she wasn’t in the comfortable music room, she could at least try to get some peace alone in here.

  
“Who are you and what are you doing here?”

  
 _Crap_.

  
The girl stiffened, neck slowly craning to the owner of the voice that came from behind her. It was a male’s voice, but there was no way, right? Maybe it was just a hallucination. Because of stress. Yeah, that’d explain it.

  
“Oi, I’m talking to you.”

  
Unwillingly, her gray eyes opened, meeting green ones belonging to the infamous ace, Hoshiumi Korai, his arms crossed while only a towel was draped on his lower body. His usual gravity-defying hair was wet and down, but it did not obscure the piercing gaze he gave her.

  
_Was he taking a shower?_

  
She glanced at the sides, and saw the familiar white tiles the girls’ shower room also had.

  
_Did I just walk in on him taking a shower?_

  
Screaming was a normal reaction but she bit her lip, as the mob outside might hear her. Taking steps back, it didn’t help that the known ace took a step forward, face still in what she deciphered as a judging expression. Her lower lip trembled, thinking of a normal response for the situation. “I- uhh… it’s- I’m sorry.” She stammered, holding the knob. She’d risk being chased again, better than to stay in this awkward of a situation because she felt like she’ll explode, based on the creeping redness in her face.

“I’ll go now, sorry for the inconve-“ she latched onto the doorknob, only for it to come off, “-nience.”

  
Linka stared down at the metal clutched on her right hand. “What is this.” No. No no no no no. _No_.

  
“Aw crud.” The other person inside spoke, and she was once again reminded that she wasn’t alone here looking stupid. Korai pointed at the object on her hand. “Looks like you locked us in here.”

  
“I did not.” She mumbled, mind going blanker by the second. Korai sighed and sat down on the stool near the wall before facing her again. “You did.”

  
 _I did_.

  
Covering her mouth tightly with both hands, she muffled a frustrated scream.

* * *

  
_She’s been doing that for five minutes now._  
Hoshiumi crossed his arms, watching in amusement as the girl fumbled to reattach the knob, only for it to fall every time. He watched her every move, and he could tell his gaze was making her uncomfortable, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that he’d seen her somewhere. 

  
At class? At school events?

  
He doesn’t know, and he doesn’t want to think about it because he believes that stress in the brain hinders growth hormones.

Sighing in defeat, he stood up.

  
“You see, unless you’re a plumber, we can’t fix that door.” He commented flatly, registering the momentary shock that passed through her face at the sound of his voice. The girl cleared her throat, and looked at him blankly.

“At the very least, I think I’m doing some progress, seeing that I’m the only one making an effort to get us out of here.”

  
His lips quirked upward at her comeback. “A futile effort, really.” Linka’s eyebrow twitched at his response.

“Better than not helping at all, really.”

Korai blinks, then he laughs loudly before walking towards her. “You’re a witty person, gotta hand it to you.” He said, putting his hands on his hips before leaning towards her, making her back down. He gazed down at her wide gray eyes and flustered face, internally glad for the fact that he’s taller. “So, what do you want me to do?”

  
Linka looked at the side, purposely avoiding locking eyes with him to avoid herself from accidentally looking at stuff that is bound to be immorally misinterpreted. She narrows her eyes in an attempt to make herself reproachful. “How about you put on some clothes for decency?”

  
“Oi oi, really?” He replies, holding his bare stomach as he laughed once again, and Linka could see his broad shoulders shaking in his enthusiasm. She shook her head vigorously, hoping to divert her attention somewhere. “I left it at my locker outside because I didn’t want it to get wet. And a girl who entered the men’s shower room when it was clearly occupied and locked them both in here shouldn’t be speaking about decency.”

  
“I-It was an accident!” She retorted, face heating up.

  
“Accident… _how_?” Korai asked, left eyebrow raised. He was definitely curious as to how this girl he barely knew ended up in the shower room the same time he was taking a bath, looking all flushed and exhausted.

Unless he gets a valid reason, he isn’t going to stop grilling her. 

  
Biting her lip, Linka decides that she should just fess up for him to not embarrass her more than he already did. So, she explains. “I was being chased.” 

  
That wasn’t really a surprise for him, seeing that her clothes were in a bit of a disarray, and a clear reason for that is she was running a while ago. “And who was chasing you? More importantly, why were you being chased?” 

A bit of apprehension raced in his chest, because if this girl was being chased for being a criminal and that she was now locked here with him, with no one to hear his screams of agony as she murders him, he is definitely doomed.

  
_Please let me live longer, I haven’t even reached 6 feet yet!_

  
_He really isn’t holding back, this volleyball porcupine._ A tick mark appears on her forehead, but she breathes deeply to recompose herself. She has to say it so he’d stop being nosy.

“Fans. They found out who I was.”

  
“Who you were…?” Korai muttered, curious. “Don’t they know your name already?”

  
“No, not my real name.” She explained, confusing him. “My identity at Kamomedia.”

  
“Oh.” He said, nodding. “That makes sense.”

  
“It does and I am in deep shit because of it.” Linka says, exasperated as she remembered the feeling of fear and exhaustion washing over her as she was being chased after the revelation. With her nose scrunched and her lips pulled upwards into an annoyed pout, Korai resists the urge to laugh, coo or both.

He opts for asking about the more obvious topic that needs discussion. “So, who are you at Kamomedia? Are you some sort of famous influencer I’ve never heard of?”

  
Linka’s brain had one immediate reaction: rude. Shaking her head, she scrutinizes possible outcomes or reactions. Is he going to believe her? Laugh at her? Poke fun of her?

  
She bit her lower lip. _Anyway, I have to tell him to clear this all up._

  
She heaves a breath. “I’m Haifer.”

  
He raises an eyebrow. “You’re Haifer.”

  
She nods. “I am.”

  
Seeing the no-nonsense expression donning the girl’s face, his curiosity flips into amusement as he smiles. “That explains the mob. The boys at the team gush about your story. A lot. You have some pretty cool writing skills.”

  
She couldn’t stop the impending blush that spread on her cheeks at his honest comment. “Thanks.”

  
“You’re like the Little Giant of writing.”

  
“… thanks.”

  
“And you’re tiny, so the name actually fits.”

  
“…”

  
“Right?”

  
“I don’t want to hear that from you.”

  
“Hey!”

* * *

“So, any plans on how to actually get us out of here?” Linka groaned, plopping herself down the tiled floor after another dozen failed attempts of reattaching the doorknob. Korai put a hand on his chin in thought, and she briefly wondered if this was how he looked like when he played volleyball.   
“Hirugami’s other club ends later, and we have practice at 3:30. If by any chance he looks for me, which of course he will because I’m the ace, he’ll open this door and get us out.”

Linka glances at her wrist and winces. Oh great, I forgot to wear my watch.

  
“And how are you so sure that he’ll be going here?” She questions him, eyes narrowed. Korai just shrugged confidently, sure of what he was saying.

  
“He said he has this sixth sense, like he knows where I am when I’m missing.” He said, frowning. “He always finds me even when I try to hide, and that’s infuriating. Sometimes I think he’s an owl. You know? They rotate heads like whoosh.”

  
“More like a mother wolf.” Linka comments, amused.

Korai’s relationship with his senpai reminded her of familial senses, but she quickly shut down the thought. “Anyway, call him senpai. He’s older than us.”

  
“Us?” He asked back, curiosity once again lacing his tone. “What year are you?”

  
“2nd year, the same as you.” Linka said flatly. Korai resisted the urge to chuckle at her forced deadpan expression and leaned closer.

“How’d you know I was a 2nd year? Do you know me?”

  
With this, her eyes rolled all the way back to Venus.

“Yeah.”

_Who doesn’t?_

She practically hears his name at least three times a day in her class. It can’t be avoided when her only friend idolizes Hoshiumi and always pulls her to watch his practice games, to which she’d reply with a flat ‘no’. The sound of balls hitting floors irked her ears, and she doesn’t like unnecessary headaches. 

  
Smiling, Korai leaned back against the wall and crossed his legs. He didn’t expect that he was going to be locked in a room with a girl who he didn’t know, but he also didn’t expect that the same girl would be the most trending anonymous personality in Kamomedia.

He felt a little honored to see her like this, at the very least. 

  
“By the way, what’s your real name?” He asks her, suddenly dawning on him that he was just bickering earlier with someone whose name he doesn’t even know.

The girl looked at him, expression in contemplation but spoke either way. “… Linka.”

  
“Linka, huh.” He drawls, noting that the way it’s said sounded actually good. “Nice to meet ya!”

  
“We already met earlier.” She rebuffed, smiling a bit. Korai hollered, the boisterous sound echoing in the closed room and in her ears that she felt her face heat up.

In a way, Linka felt honored to see the renowned ace at a new light. If only the setting wasn’t so weird.

  
“Oh right, we met. When you locked us here.”

  
“ _Accident_ , Hoshiumi-san. I wouldn’t do that voluntarily.”

  
“Do you have any verification to support your statement and make it believable?”

  
“Wow, look at you sounding so smart. I thought your brain was only a round, branded Mikasa.”

  
“I believe that’s an insult. What do you think I am, a walking talking volleyball?”

  
“Aren’t you, though?”

  
The two laughed together at their own exchange as if they were good friends. At the sound of her giggles, he stopped and found himself observing the girl in front of him again. Linka’s shoulders were shaking, her eyelids half closed but her lips were stretched upward. He then remembered that she was, in fact, a girl. Her gray eyes caught the light in such a perfect way as she laughed. And one, uncharacteristic word made its way on the tip of his tongue. 

  
_Beautiful_.

  
Korai’s sound ceased, and she turned to him confusedly. Eyes widening, she immediately shrunk back to the corner defensively when she saw him looking at her intently. She let her hair cover the sides of her face in an attempt to hide her now embarrassed state.

 _Was I laughing too loud?_ “What… is it? Is there something on my face?”

  
He let out a breathless chuckle and shook his head. “No. It’s just your eyes.”

  
Linka stiffened at the all too familiar remark. I thought this was going to be different. Her shoulders slumped a bit, and she forced herself to smile as someone once again points out her biggest insecurity.

  
To her astonishment, Korai smiled genuinely, a light blush on his cheeks. “I think they’re really pretty.”

  
Linka sat there, stunned. 

  
_“Someone out there would tell you that those eyes are nothing but beautiful.”_

  
“What…?” She uttered, blinking at the boy in front of him. He just managed to render her speechless without even knowing it. Her heart thrummed wildly inside her chest she felt like she was hearing it, and her lip wobbled. She looked down at her hands on her lap to hide whatever ugly expression she must be making right now because of her overwhelm at his words, but he seemed to take it the wrong way.

  
Korai internally panicked at her blank expression. Did I say something wrong? But- his thoughts shut down when he saw Linka’s head hung low and he hurriedly stood, kneeling in front of her to peek at her face. Korai knew he wasn’t good at talking to girls, but making one cry? He’d feel like utter shit and not have any motivation for later practice.

  
_And then Coach will give me an earful, I’ll be removed from the team, I’ll lose the Little Giant Title, I’m never gonna battle Hinata Shoyo, and Hirugami’s probably gonna ask me again to take care of his worms. Yeah, that is so horrible-_

  
He vigorously shook his head. There was a girl crying in front of him and _what was he doing?_

  
Not versed on the basics of comforting the lifeforms called women, he just followed his instincts and held her hands, pressing them together softly. He tried to look at her face, but the long brown hair was obscuring his chances. He spoke, voice soft and unsure as if talking to a baby awkwardly. “Are you, uh, alright? Did I offend you in some way?”

Maintaining a calm approach was a bit hard, since his normalcy was rambunctious. But, afraid that his loud voice was going to make Linka cry even more, he doesn’t want to take any chances so he continued.

“If it did, I’m sorry. But the part where I said that your eyes were neat wasn’t a lie.”

  
“No…” She squeaked out, clearing up his misinterpretation of her silence. Looking up at him, she squeezed his hands between hers and smiled. 

  
“Thank you.”

  
He looked at her dumbly, registering the physical contact which she obviously didn’t mind or just didn’t notice. But, he notes, at least she’s now alright. He grinned goofily.

“You’re welcome.”

  
Linka’s usual smile widened for the first time in many years.

  
“Korai,” A voice came from outside that neither heard, too immersed in their own little world, “put on some clothes, we have prac- oh.”

Hirugami’s litany was cut, eyes raking the scene that befell upon his sight. Of all the formulated scenarios in his head, this was clearly not one of those he expected. He found the option of pinching himself to see if this was real quite alluring, but he decided against it and kept a calm façade. Korai and the girl turned to him, both flabbergasted at his sudden appearance and he thought he’d just ruined his kohai’s chances. He looked at the ace knowingly. 

  
“Am I interrupting something?” Glancing at the intertwined hands, he followed the smaller arms to its owner. “Shirogane-san.”

  
“H-Hirugami-senpai,” Linka stuttered once again, deliberately loosening her hold on Korai’s hands in shame, “Hello.”

  
“Hi.” The older male smiles at her reassuringly for a bit. Linka tries her best not to fidget with her fingers because Hirugami might pry, but she knew he wasn’t that type of person. He was about to reassure her again that he won’t tell anyone but his teammate showed up in front of him, suddenly all dressed. Looking at his hands, he didn’t even realize that the bag wasn’t there anymore. Korai gestured towards the door. 

  
“Let’s go.”

  
“…alright.” Hirugami replied, glancing lastly at the female in the room with them before following Korai outside.

Linka had an unreadable expression on her face, not knowing if she should be happy to be finally free from there, or hurt that her new friend (or at least she thought so) ignored her existence the second they were out. She started walking to the music room at the opposite hallway, chest feeling void. 

  
“So much for bonds.” She whispered to herself. “So much for trying.”

  
“Linka!” 

  
She halted in her steps at the familiar call, turning behind her to see Korai looking back at her. She stood still, listening at what he was about to say. He smiled. “See you again sometime!”

  
She had clearly thought that he was going to ask to pretend their encounter never happened, so no one could imagine her relief when that wasn’t the case. Caught off guard, she doesn’t stop the upward curve of her lips. 

  
“Okay!”

  
Clearly joyed with her response, he waved goodbye and so did she, promptly making her way towards the music this room this time with a lighter chest. Motivation to write blossomed in her chest as she sauntered away happily.

It was ecstatic to know that she had just made her existence known to a new friend, Hoshiumi Korai.

She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t looking forward, even just a teensy bit, into seeing him again.

Next time, maybe under different circumstances.

  
At the other side of the hallway, Hirugami was waiting for the proper time to address the elephant in the room. “So…”

  
The ace looked at him from the side of his eyes. “What?”

  
“What happened? Why were you there with Shirogane?”

  
“You know her?” Korai quipped, turning to him fully. Hirugami concealed his surprise at his question as he answered. “Yes. I tutored her once.”

  
“Oh.” Korai says. “Cool. Is Coach there yet?”

  
“Don’t divert the discussion.” The blocker points out, unfazed. “Why was she there? Is there something going on between you two?”

Korai frowned at his string of questions. Turns out the title Hirugami the Immovable didn’t apply to just volleyball. He sighs. “We were locked there since lunch.”

  
“I could see that.” Hirugami drawls, connecting the reasons dot by dot. “For three hours?”

  
“Yup.”

  
“Why, exactly?”

  
“She was being chased and walked in there, by accident. She also broke the knob by accident.” Korai narrated, looking forward. The older of the two contemplated his answers with a blank stare. A small, teasing smile made its way on his face as he raised his eyebrow curiously. “Korai.”

  
“What?”

  
“Admit it.” With this, the ace stops walking and looks at him with an expression akin to exasperation and confusion in one. 

  
“Huh? Admit what?”

  
“You could’ve kicked down that door if you wanted to.”

  
The second-year beside him remains silent, and he saw the way Korai bit his lower lip. His mouth opened, then shuts, like he was unsure of speaking after the definitely obvious fact that Hirugami just spat on his face. When he felt like the blocker was waiting for an answer, which of course he is, he relented with an honest answer lest he saw through him again.

“She is Haifer.”

  
Lazy eyes widened noticeably at the revelation. Hirugami admits to not being easily caught off guard, but this surely was a news. Suddenly, the thing Korai said about Linka being chased earlier finally made sense, as he’s seen the trend of Haifer’s fans firsthand. He, too, was a fan of Hai-

  
“Oh.” He gets it now.

  
The ace looks up at him. “’Oh’?”

  
The older’s lips quirked upward in one direction, forming an unusual smirk that made Korai distance himself in shock. Briefly wondering if this person beside him was the real Hirugami Sachiro, he decides to ask jokingly but was beat to the punch by the man in question himself.

  
“So that’s why you didn’t make an effort to get out of there. You have a crush?”

  
Korai pouts. “Shut up.”

  
“I always say that to you whenever you gushed about wanting to meet your “favorite author” so you can praise her in person, but you won’t listen.” Hirugami continued, satisfied with the embarrassed expression that overtook the younger’s face.

“It makes sense that you just wanted to spend time with-“

  
“Oh, please!” Korai shouted in defeat, face flushed and nape hot. He increases his pace, leaving the senpai behind while trying to calm his flustered heart. “Fine fine! Can we get to practice already?”

  
Hirugami increased his steps to catch up and nodded. “Sure sure.” He decided that he should probably stop teasing his kohai, as he had seen many interesting things today to call it quits.

Besides, _the_ Korai admitted defeat with a topic as simple as a _crush_. He’d just open it up again when time and opportunity come, hoping that one day it won’t come back to bite him in the ass.

  
“Linka…” He quickly turns to his spiky-haired teammate when he spoke of the girl’s name, eyebrow raised. Eyes locked at the open gym doors, Korai entered with a big grin on his face.

  
“She’s immersed in writing, while me in volleyball.” He turned to the third year by the entrance, expression bright. “We’re both Little Giants of our own worlds, don’tcha think?”

  
He doesn’t give Hirugami much time to formulate a response as he quickly ran towards the court for the warm ups, doing the usual shouting to announce his presence. The blocker just smiled, shaking his head as he followed suit. 

  
“Right.”

* * *

After a rather uneventful reencounter with the mob of fans back at the cafeteria in a mission to retrieve her phone, her long-awaited time of relaxing in the music room has finally come.

  
Half an hour ago.

  
The sun sinks, covering the sky with ethereal streaks of red, orange and yellow. Light seeped into the open glass window, illuminating the pristine face of the figure sitting atop the brown wooden sofa beside the piano.

Soft snores could be heard from her, and her peaceful slumber was not interrupted even by birds. In her right hand, she clutched her device, still flickered on as the cause of her rest was typed in small, uniform black letters.

  
_3: 58 PM - Epilogue posted!_

  
_4: 00 PM – Author’s note:_

  
_Thank you for reading. :)_

  
_\- Shirogane Linka_

**Author's Note:**

> About the names, if ya curious...
> 
> Shirogane= because I just watched Love is War and littt
> 
> Linka= close to my real (like, real world real) name
> 
> Haifer= because HaiferLinka (hyperlink) (???) (Author makes bad puns no need to pity laugh at me >:)
> 
> Anyway i hope this didn't suck and thanks for readin'!


End file.
